After the Qatar World Cup, South Korean citizens discovered hidden gems on the soccer field, like Kyu Sung Cho and Min Jae Kim. As the Korean soccer team gained massive support, an important question lingered - what about the female players? Despite winning the semi-final round of the Asian Cup, the Korean Women’s Soccer Team did not rise to fame. Even today, female athletes continue to be undervalued and marginalized in the sports field.

According to the ‘Average Player Compensation per Sport, 2019’, male athletes’ salaries were 15% to nearly 100% higher than female players. This isn’t surprising after witnessing women NBA players receiving 70 times less than their male counterparts. Even in South Korea, Kim Yeon Kyoung, a female volleyball player, spoke up in 2018, problematizing the discrepancies in salary caps. 

Then what causes this type of discrimination? First of all, the stereotype that male sports are more aggressive, exciting, and competitive is perpetuated today. This norm has also resulted in colossal differences in tournament sizes, campaigns, and funding for male athletes.

Private and public institutions also show apparent differences in support, such as media coverage and funding. According to UNESCO, although women’s sports accounted for 40% of the Tokyo Olympics, their screen time was 4%. In addition, due to the lack of financial support, it is harder for female players to improve their training facilities and compete in large-scale tournaments with more audiences.

Through sports equity policies, private and public sports teams should actively address the problems. Equity in sports is about recognizing inequalities and taking action to deal with them, ensuring fairness. Hence, equity policies can create a better compensation system to encourage female sports industries, prevent stereotypical views, and provide a legal background to solve the gender pay gap.

Equity policies are one of the many stepping stones to gender equity. However, the most crucial action is to escape from ignorance and provide equal support for the rising female players in the sports industry.

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